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Spotting Your Action Under the New Procurement Act 2023 written by Michael Bowsher KC, Fiona Banks, Jen Coyne and Charlotte McLean, of Monckton Chambers for The Legal 500 Hot Topics.
When should a supplier consider seeking advice on its rights under the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”)? In our experience, suppliers often do so too late and many claims of substance do not progress because they are brought too late and are therefore wholly or partly time-barred.
In this article we identify the important stages of a procurement; the enforcement process under the new Act; and the key pressure points in the process when suppliers may wish to consider their rights if they want to be sure that these are fully respected. Given the tight timescales to bring a challenge it is important for suppliers and those advising them to consider the potentially fertile ground for challenges throughout the full procurement process. If a would-be supplier is being adversely treated in the procurement process, it will nearly always be necessary to act within the short time limits. As previously, a claim must be brought within 30 days from the day on which the supplier first knew or ought to have known about the circumstances giving rise to the claim for most challenges (ss.106(1) and 65(2)(c)). Crucially, however, there is now only an eight day standstill period (for interim relief against debarment, s.63(2) and on award, s.51(2)).